Door To Dawn
by Rael-Lirdu
Summary: This is my story about what might have happened to Riku in between Chain Of Memories and Kingdom Hearts II. It's my first one ever, so please be nice and review! RikuOC ON INDEFINITE HIATUS!
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone! I'm Rael. This is a fanfic about Riku from Kingdom Hearts, my favorite video game character of all time. It's my first real fanfic ever, so I'd like your opinions on how I can improve my writing, storyline, etc. Don't be shy! I accept all kinds of criticism, including flames!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Kingdom Hearts franchise, Square-Enix and Disney do. If I did, then Riku would be the main character, not Sora. However, I do own copies of all three games released in the US – Kingdom Hearts, Chain of Memories, and Kingdom Hearts II.

Warning: This story will contain spoilers from the end of Kingdom Hearts II, so unless you have beaten it or like spoilers, read at your own risk. You have been warned.

Now enjoy Door To Dawn!

Door To Dawn 

It was dawn. The oppressive blackness lingering over the land was lightening, reluctantly giving way to the light of a new day. It was in this mood of awakening that a girl walked in silence down the curving dirt road, pausing a moment to solemnly greet the dawn and the promises it held.

She was wearing a full ensemble of light grey, almost silver in hue. The hooded grey cloak that fastened around her shoulders was hanging down to the tops of her boots, and brushed slightly against her long trousers. Her tunic was cut modestly, with full sleeves and a collar that ringed her neck. The only jewelry that could be seen was a small pendant in the shape of an angel's wing resting in the hollow of her throat. She had a confident, flowing walk that made her seem to glide across the ground, movement that evoked economy of movement and complete control over her actions. A bow and quiver were slung across her right shoulder, with the strap of the quiver crossing her chest to her lower left hip. A grey archer's wrist guard adorned each of her slim wrists. She was thin, but without the starved look that would have suggested a hard life.

As she walked, she scanned the surrounding hills through green irises shot through with gold, searching for any movement or signs that something was amiss. A slight breeze moved the top of the long grass and blew through her midnight black hair. The breeze carried to her ear the sound of a slight rustling, and she turned in the direction of the noise to see nothing – except for the grass. _It was only the wind_, she thought to herself gratefully. Then, without warning, black forms erupted out of the grass toward her, reeking of darkness to her senses. Automatically, she reached back into her quiver to pull out her already-strung bow and an arrow. Firing smoothly at the black form in the vanguard of those attacking, she was satisfied to see the thing burst in a cloud of shadow. Knowing that she would soon be surrounded if she didn't find a more defensible position, the girl looked at the landscape again, her eyes finding a black hole in the middle of a small hillock that rose above the grassy plain. _If I can just get to that cave, I should be able to make it so they are forced to attack me one at a time,_ she thought grimly.

She turned and ran toward the scant protection the cave offered. Reaching the opening, she was gratified to find that it was only the width of one person – perfect for her purpose. The girl selected another arrow and retreated deeper into the cave. As the first dark creature appeared, she concentrated on the arrow nocked to her string. A bright light gathered in the arrowhead and shone throughout the darkness of the cave. Unbeknownst to her, someone already in the cave awoke at the light shining on his eyelids. She fired, making the shadow burst. Suddenly, a new sound intruded itself on her senses – the voice of a young man behind her.

"Get down now!" the boy said. She flung herself down on her back instantly, feeling a power surge behind her where the boy now stood. A stream of purple fireballs shot through the gap where she had just stood, one coming low enough for her to feel the heat as it passed over her nose. The crowd of shadows burst, leaving nothing behind but a streak on the floor of the cave entrance. The girl stood, finding herself face to face with a young man about her own age of sixteen. The boy had silver hair down to his shoulders, and clear blue eyes that seemed to have no end to their depths. He was wearing a strange black robe with a silver chain across the front of it. The girl spoke first.

"Thank you for your assistance. I have never seen the like of those creatures before, and their presence startled me. My name is Rael. And you are…?"

That's the end of the first chapter! Please review; I could really use your help. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks so much to everyone who read the first chapter of Door To Dawn! I really appreciate the reviews too. I'm sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out. I had unexpected computer and Internet failures last week that took the entire week to get fixed. Without further ado, here's what you've all been waiting for: Chapter Two of Door to Dawn!

-Door To Dawn-

"Riku. My name is Riku," the boy replied. He smiled thinly. "It's nice to meet you, Rael."

"The pleasure is all mine, Riku. Would you mind telling me what you are doing here?" Rael asked, trying to draw out a little more information from him.

"I'm looking for answers," he said shortly. Rael got the impression he wasn't very conversational around strangers. Of course, neither was she. However, she felt a strange and irrepressible urge to impress Riku.

'What is the matter with me? Why do I want to make a good impression?' she wondered. "Perhaps I can aid you in your search. I have gathered much information in my travels," Rael said hopefully. She watched his face eagerly for a sign that her offer would be accepted. His face flickered as he considered her words, and then sighed regretfully. 'What does that mean? A sigh? I should really stop fretting about this so much. The worst he can do is refuse to tell me any more. So why am I hoping he'll tell me?' "What do you know about darkness?" he asked slowly, as if unwilling to say more. 

"I know much about darkness. It is, after all, part of me, as light is part of me. I am sure that you know that, however. I can sense within you the same balance between light and darkness that I have found. I digress, however. I know that darkness has an extremely corruptive nature, and traps those unwary enough to embrace its power with greedy intent. That is the side that most who use darkness find. There is purity in darkness, just as there is purity in light. Those who use darkness not for evil intent but for good find this side. There are few wielders of 'pure darkness', myself being one of them. Pure darkness can be considered as a 'cure' for the impure side of darkness, though the process of learning to use pure darkness is quite difficult for those who have touched the impure, for they are tempted to revert to it. Pure darkness is very hard to wield, and impure darkness is quite easy in comparison. It is a constant struggle with oneself to only use pure darkness," she said, glancing at Riku to see if her words had gotten through to him. _I simplified it as much as I could. He seems intelligent enough to understand the concepts._

Rael was shocked to see Riku not only looking like he understood, but seeming as if a ray of hope had shone in a land of black despair. She had no way of knowing that she had just provided the perfect answer to every question that had been plaguing him for a long time. His blue eyes shone with hope. Riku leaned forward, the happiness on his face now replaced by a fierce intensity that almost made her shrink back in fear. "Can you… teach me… how to use pure darkness?" he asked. His intensity faded as he noticed the effect it was having on Rael, to be replaced by one of anticipation.

Rael looked to be in deep thought. Her mouth opened to speak. "Riku, I…"

That's all for chapter two! I hope you enjoyed reading this; I'd appreciate your reviews!


	3. Chapter 3

Hi again, everyone! Thanks for reading chapter two, and a special thanks to Devry, my lone reviewer for that chapter. As a treat, this chapter is a little longer than the others. School is almost out for me, so I will hopefully be able to get the later chapters out sooner. Enough of my prattling, though, here's chapter three!

-Door To Dawn-

"I… need some time to decide. It would be unwise to try and teach you without seeing what kind of a person you are and where your abilities lie. So until I decide, how about we travel together so I can see firsthand?" she asked, brow slightly creased in consternation. _'Here begins another endless series of questions, deliberations, and compromises. How do I get myself in these situations?'_ she thought. Her eyes watched his face unobtrusively, studying for any hints of what lay behind that calm, impassive mask he wore.

"Well, I have gotten a little lonely these past few months, and I could use another good fighter with me, I guess. Just in case I get into a fight I can't handle," Riku said, his confident tone suggesting he didn't think there was anything he couldn't handle, his pose suggesting that as well, with his right hand on the hilt of his sword and back propped easily against the cave wall.

'_He's certainly a cool one. Is there anything that he'll react to?'_ she wondered, before snapping her attention back to his reply. "It is comforting to know that you are certain of your battling abilities. You must be careful not to get too overconfident, though. There is a saying among my people, 'There is always a stronger enemy, you just have not fought him yet.' You would do well to keep that in mind, Riku." Rael said, noticing the deflating effect her final words had on his confidence. _I didn't mean to make him lose confidence, just lose some of his attitude. Overconfidence can be fatal.' _ To restore some of his confidence, she added, "I'm sure you have excellent skills – you saved my life, remember? It's just that, in my experience, once you have gotten boastful and proud, someone sends you a painful lesson to teach you that you always have to strive to be better, never just content with having average skills." Riku smiled faintly, taking to heart Rael's admonition.

'_Another reminder to bring me down to earth. As if getting beaten by Sora wasn't bad enough, now a stranger is reprimanding me. As soon I as allow myself a little congratulations for defeating Ansem twice, I'm jumped on for relaxing my guard. Just as well, I'd hate to lose to someone as weak as Sora again.'_ Riku thought wryly, still keeping his emotions behind an impassive mask. He spoke in the same wry tone as his thoughts. "Sounds like someone else has the same drive for perfection that I do. I like that. It sounds like we'll work well together."

She nodded approval at his tacit statement. As the sun lit up the previous darkness of the cave, she started in shock. Had they been talking that long? Rael couldn't believe time had passed so quickly. It had to be at least noon for the sun to be shining directly into the cave. A rumbling sound could be heard echoing throughout the cavern. "What is that? An earthquake?" she asked, slightly alarmed. She looked over at Riku to see him blushing.

"Hardly that. It's just my stomach rumbling. It's been a while since I've eaten." Riku said, embarrassed.

"Don't you have any food with you?" Rael asked curiously.

"I ate the last of it last night. I was hoping to get an early start and find some kind of town where I could buy some food," he said.

"Well, there's no need for that. I happen to have just restocked my supplies from a trader I found wandering the roads. He was anxious to get back to his home city and wanted to get rid of some extra weight, so I bought all his excess foodstuffs. It was quite a nice trade. I hope you like dried beef, dried fruit, cheese, and bread, because that was mostly what he had," she said as she took off her quiver to rummage in a gray knapsack Riku hadn't noticed was there. Then again, he hadn't really taken a close look at her clothes, just her face. He had been mostly concerned with her words, anyway. She took out two rolls, strips of beef jerky, and some dried fruit.

She cocked her head to the side and motioned for silence. A soft trickling could be heard in the background. She got up smoothly and went deeper into the cave. Her voice echoed faintly from behind Riku. "There's a small spring of water back here. Most large caves have one, but I wasn't sure if this one would. That is quite fortunate. I can save my canteens for later." She returned from the back of the cave and rummaged in her pack again, this time pulling out an empty clear flask. She went to the spring and filled the flask with water. Giving the flask to Riku, she said, "Here's something for you to drink from. I wasn't sure if you had any with you, so you can keep this. I have no need for it."

"Thank you, Rael. I feel bad that I can't give you anything in return. You seem to have everything, and I'm just sitting here doing nothing. There must be some way I can repay you for your kindness," Riku said, slightly worried about getting deep in a debt he couldn't repay.

"Ah, but I'm repaying you, remember? These little things come nowhere close to repaying my debt to you. I would not have survived much longer had you not intervened in that last battle," she said gently. "Now let's eat, before the food gets colder."

With that, they sat down to an impromptu brunch made of jerky wrapped in rolls, achingly cold mineral fresh from the cave spring, and some assorted dried fruit as a sweet taste to end the meal. Refreshed, they stood up and stretched, slightly stiff from sitting on a cold cave floor for roughly six hours.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked him.

"Yeah," he replied.

With that, they set off in the brightness of a clear day, with the sun around their shoulders, heading towards the sun and the promise of a new adventure.

Thanks for reading! Please review; I even accept flames. Just let me know what you think, if there is anything I can improve on, etc.


	4. Chapter 4

Hi again! I'm back, and now that it's finally summer, you can expect the chapters much sooner. **Keyblade **Crusader, here's the action you've been wanting. Thanks to **Keyblade Crusader** and **Devry** for their reviews! Although I would like more… please? If I have to, I will resort to impolite methods such as begging or blackmailing. Seriously, 23 of you read the last chapter and I only got two reviews! I even have Anonymous Reviews accepted! What more do I have to do before y'all will review?

Now on to more important matters – the first three chapters were really sort of an introduction. So this is really the first chapter. Also, from now on, each chapter will be in either Riku or Rael's point of view. This chapter will be in **Rael's pov**.

**-Door To Dawn-**

_'It has been a week since Riku and I joined forces. A fairly quiet week, too, in my opinion. There have been a few encounters with those 'Heartless' Riku knows so much about, but not one Nobody. Very strange, especially considering where we are and who I am. Maybe my cloaking exercises are working…'_ I thought as we walked along the road.

I was snapped out of my reverie by a hand waving in front of my face. "Hello, anyone there? Rael?" Riku said, annoyance clear on his face.

"What? I was thinking," I said calmly, trying not to let my anger at having my thoughts interrupted show.

"That was the FIFTH time I said your name! That must have been some pretty serious thinking," he said jocularly, shifting moods now that I was paying attention.

"Yes, I suppose so. I was just wondering why it has been so quiet. We have encountered only a few bands of Heartless, and no Nobodies at all. Considering that we are in prime Nobody territory, we should have seen at least as many of them as we have seen of Heartless." I said.

"Why do you say this is 'prime Nobody territory', Rael?" Riku queried.

"Well, this is the Road to Twilight, is it not? Nobodies are neither light nor darkness, but are composed of both and yet neither. In other, less contradictory terms, they are made from the essence of twilight, which is nothingness. So the Road to Twilight should be crawling with Nobodies, but it isn't." I answered.

"And how do you know this?" he asked again.

"I am an expert on Nobodies, just like I consider you an expert on Heartless. Just like your Heartless, there are many different types of Nobodies. Which type of Nobody we face depends on which member of the Organization we fight. But instead of me explaining, why don't I just show you?" I said, allowing a tight smile to creep across my lips. I was going to enjoy rumbling with Nobodies again. But first, to see which Organization member was in range…

I sat on the ground in a meditative pose, legs crossed and arms resting on my legs with palms raised toward the sky. Closing my eyes, I spoke to Riku again. "Watch my body. I don't want anything to happen to me while my mind is elsewhere." I could imagine his handsome face creased in puzzlement and laughed. "Don't worry, I'm just going to send my mind out hunting for Nobodies. Once I find some, I'll attract them here and we can have a good fight!"

I could vaguely sense Riku watching me with something akin to amazement. I allowed myself a brief moment to remind myself to tell him more about mental powers, since he apparently had none himself. I focused again. Keeping my mental shields up, I slowly expanded my mind to my surroundings. In my focused state, I briefly brushed against the light/dark aura that was Riku's mind before moving northward, further down the road. If there were any Nobodies to be found, there was a better chance of finding them in an area we had not yet explored. All my mind encountered for the first thousand yards was a blankness that indicated no auras. After all, even Nobodies had auras. They were faint to be sure, but that sense of nothingness could never be mistaken for anything else.

Another few thousand yards gave me the same results. '_Just how far does this road stretch before reaching some kind of civilization anyway? This is getting pretty boring…Wait, what was that?'_ I stopped quickly, retracting my mind a few yards. There was only one aura, glowing faintly in my mind-sense, but it was there. _'It's only a Dusk. That's hardly a challenge. So let's see what Organization member is closest…'_ I thought as I carefully let part of my shields slip. Keeping it down long enough to let the Dusk know I could sense it, I quickly slammed it back up before it, or an Organization member, could trace it back to my location.

I remained focused on the Dusk, and watched as the aura began to shimmer, then multiply. _'That's right. Take the bait. I want a challenge!'_ I could sense about fifty Dusks before they finally stopped multiplying. I then used one of my other mental powers, focusing on the Dusks, simultaneously focusing on my present location. Wrapping my mind around the Dusks, I "jerked" them to where Riku and my body waited. However, I slowed their movement as I raced back to my body, to give us a little time to prepare for their arrival.

Opening my eyes wearily, I shifted my legs from their cramped position and stretched. "How long was I gone?" I asked as I stretched.

"About two hours, as well as I can judge from the sun." Riku replied, shocked that I was back after what must have seemed an eternity of waiting to him.

"I managed to find us some Dusks to play with. Dusks are the most common form of Nobody, so I expect we'll be seeing a lot of them before our journey ends. There are about fifty headed this way, so get ready," I said, turning to face north.

He nodded in reply, holding his hand out before him. I felt a surge of darkness and a black winged blade edged in purple appeared in his hand. He gripped the handle eagerly. "This is SoulEater, my blade," he said. In reply, I took out my bow and an arrow, nocking it to the string, feeling the smooth hair beneath my fingers as I drew back the string. I took a position to the left and five steps behind Riku. "Why are you back there? You've stayed next to me when we've fought Heartless," he asked.

"You fight right-handed. Therefore, your left side is your weak side, since you have no weapon with which to protect yourself. Also, the bow is a distance weapon, so the farther back I am, the more accurate I can be with my shots and I can make sure to keep out of your way while protecting your left side. So just worry about the Dusks to your front and right. I'll take care of the Dusks behind and to the left of you. And speak of the devils – here they come!"

From seemingly out of nowhere, silver creatures appeared with the Nobody symbol on their foreheads, a symbol resembling a cross with flourishes like flour-de-lies at each corner, with the largest flour-de-lie at the bottom. Their mouths were made of zippers and they had electric blue pulses running down the sides of their bodies. They wove back and forth drunkenly, making hesitant steps forward and back, as if begging us to attack. So we did.

Riku instinctively swung in an overhand swipe in front of him, sweeping through the first Dusk, splitting it in half. The Dusk burst in a shower of MP balls and twilight. I watched the group of Dusk to his left, looking for threatening motions. It normally takes Dusks around half a minute to get up the nerve to attack, and sure enough, after twenty seconds, one to the left of Riku bunched its leg muscles to spring and headbutt him. I narrowed my eyes, focusing on that first Dusk, and felt my fingers snap as I released the arrow with a _twang_ from the string. It flew true with a whistle through the air, striking the Dusk in the side, with enough force to pass straight through the shell. That Dusk burst too.

From then on, I didn't have any more time to reflect or think, simply fighting on instinct. My entire world was narrowed to aiming, firing, reaching for another arrow to fire again. I never considered the fact that I could run out of arrows, or that my bowstring could snap, rendering me useless in battle. For some reason, I trusted that my equipment wouldn't run out or falter in any way. Reaching back into my quiver for another arrow, I blindly grabbed one, nocked the string, and then looked for a target. My eyes blurred a little in weariness. Surely we had fought more than fifty Dusks by now! It was time to end the battle.

Looking at my arrow, I was surprised to noticed that I had grabbed one of my twelve special arrows tipped with diamond instead of steel. It was perfect for my special attack. Closing my eyes, I retreated into my soul for a brief moment, touching the core of light that resided there. It was a small wellspring of light, bubbling with purity.

I gripped with my mind a few drops of light, which then drew in more until it was practically a small puddle. I "pushed" that puddle toward the arrow, wrapping it with light, especially the arrowhead, which gathered and refracted it. I pointed the bow toward a point directly above Riku's head and fired.

The arrow sailed through the air, and as it reached the maximum of its arc, I released the light from the arrow. Sparks of light flew through the air, raining down upon Riku and the Dusks. Each Dusk that it touched disappeared, while each mote that struck Riku made him glow, slowly returning his strength. Eventually, the arrow fell back down to the earth, and with it the last of the light faded. All the Dusks had been eliminated, and now all that remained were tons of MP balls and a few Twilight Shards, Serenity Stones, and Potions.

Riku slumped wearily to the ground, body still glowing from the effect of the motes. He looked at me from his position on the ground. "If that's what you call an introduction, I don't want to get in a REAL fight!"

I chuckled at that, running my fingers through my hair. "I suppose some spawned from the remains of the others. Had I known that would happen, I would've ended the battle sooner," I said. My eyes blurred again, closing as I dropped to the ground in a dead faint…

Well, that's the end of chapter four! I hope that was enough action for you, **Keyblade Crusader**! As for the rest of you, **REVIEW**! Please?


	5. Chapter 5

Hey and thanks for waiting everyone! I'm sorry for the delay. After two weeks of vacation, my writer's block has been lifted and I'm ready to write! This one won't have too much action; it's more of a bridge. After all, too much action, and you'll be spoiled! Speaking of spoiled, **THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SPOILERS! **

Thanks to my new reviewer **Divine Wrath VS Mirror Slash**, as well as my regular reviewers, **Keyblade Crusader **and **Devry**! This chapter will be in **Riku's POV**, so I apologize if he seems a little OOC. This is my first time doing his POV. As always, **PLEASE REVIEW! **

And without further ado, here's chapter five of **Door To Dawn**!

**-Door To Dawn-**

'_Great. She fainted. I thought she was stronger than that.'_ Aloud I said, "Rael?" softly, in an attempt to stir her. No response. '_Wonderful. I guess there's nothing to do but find the nearest cave or something and wait for her to wake up. And I hate waiting.'_

I reached for the silver-clothed figure crumpled in the grass. Upon spotting her bow nearby, however, I changed direction and picked it up. Hefting the unfamiliar weapon, I decided to take the opportunity to examine it. After all, she never had it out unless she was practicing or fighting.

I ran my hands over the smooth wood and the string connecting the two ends. I had never noticed before, but the bow was made of a white wood, while the string was black. The bowstring appeared smooth and straight at first, but as I looked closer, I could see that it was made of thin black strands woven together. The strands seemed oddly familiar, and with a flash of insight I looked at Rael's head. The strands were the same thickness as a human hair, maybe… no way. That would be a little too weird.

Next, I turned my attention to her bow. Smooth grains of brown marred the otherwise pure white surface. Well, it wasn't really white, but a slight cream color. '_Huh. It's really springy.'_ I thought as I bent the bow a fraction. It sprang instantly back into place. Slender, yet strong and supple. '_I wonder what kind of wood this is… I've never seen this type before. But now that my curiosity is satisfied, I guess it's time to find a place to rest.'_

Returning to where Rael lay, I turned her over and slid her bow back into her quiver. Her _empty_ quiver. '_Guess she needs her arrows back.' _ He walked to the area he had spent the last hour fighting in.Sure enough, there were white shafts scattered about. Going around in circles, I picked up the arrows, noticing a concentration of them where he had been standing for most of the fight. '_It was nice of her to watch my back. I should repay the favor someday.'_ I counted the arrows I had gathered. Forty-five. Well, her quiver WAS pretty big. Once again going back to her unconscious body, I slid each arrow home into her quiver before placing her bow in the same spot.

"Now for the hard part," I muttered, reaching for her arms. Hoisting them and wrapping them around my neck, I secured her legs, lifting them under my armpits. Piggyback was clearly the only way to get anywhere fast with an unconscious girl. I had learned a lot last year, having to carry Kairi from world to world when she… I quickly pushed my thoughts away from that path. It wouldn't do Rael or me any good for me to dwell on my past mistakes.

Speaking of Rael… she had shifted. Her head was now resting up against my cheek, and her breath was warming my face. '_Great. Just great. Why am I stuck in this situation? Not that I mind, it's just… well, if she woke up right now I'd be dead meat, traveling partner or no. I really hope I find something soon… for my sake.'_ Suddenly, our surroundings changed. Instead of rolling hills with a dirt road, we were now in a huge forest. Turning around, I looked behind me to find that the hills had disappeared, and this forest had taken its place.

"_Nice, Riku. Real smooth, getting so absorbed in your thoughts you take us into a huge dark forest. Great navigating job."_ Sarcasm dripped from every word that echoed in my brain. Wait… that wasn't my voice. So who… wait, that's impossible.

"Rael?" I asked aloud. My question echoed throughout the forest.

"_Kind of. Do you remember when I went in that trance earlier?"_ Giving me no time to answer, the voice plunged on. _"Anyway, when I was in that trance, I was sending my mind out beyond the borders of my physical body. In addition to that, I also have telepathy, which means I can speak with your mind. I find it convenient when I'm unconscious. Do you understand?"_

"No. Not really."

"_Then never mind. Suffice to say it's a type of magic." _

"Oh. Can I learn it?"

_"You can try. The first step is to stop _speaking_ to me. Think your replies in your mind instead. That way I can determine how strong you might be, if you have the capacity to learn."_

"Like…" I shut my mouth and _thought._ "_Like this?"_ I thought 'loudly' not sure if she could 'hear' me.

_"OW! Not that loud, please, Riku! I'm really out of practice, I wasn't even sure I would be able to reach you."_ There was a pause. "_Actually, congratulations on making my mind ring. You have a lot of potential."_

"_Um, thanks? Hey, this is getting easier."_ I thought triumphantly.

_"Yeah, good job, but you still need to tone it down. You're giving me a brainache."_

_"Um, I'll try." _I thought back, trying to 'speak' in a normal 'mind-tone'. Strange. I seem to be picking up some kind of mental vocabulary.

_"That's because I'm helping your mind adjust. Don't fight it, just let me help you." _Rael's voice echoed in my skull.

I wasn't even aware I had thought that last sentence aloud. But her last sentence kept rattling around my mind. _He_ had said something like that, a year ago. Suddenly, as if just thinking about him summoned him, _his_ face swam before my eyes. Silver hair, cruel yellow eyes, and that mocking laugh. I shivered uncontrollably. I… couldn't take it! "NO! NOT EVER AGAIN! I WON'T BE YOUR PUPPET, ANSEM!" I screamed desperately.

_"What? Riku, are you feeling all right? Riku? RIKU? What's wrong?"_

Control. I had to get control. Ansem was not, could not, be here. Slowly, I took deep breaths, my racing heart slowing to a fraction above its normal pace. "_He's not here, he's not here. It's just your imagination. Calm down, Riku,_" I told myself, forgetting Rael could hear me.

**-Mid Game KH2 Spoiler-**

But I was quickly reminded. "_Riku, what's going on? Why did you just shove a mental picture of Xehanort down my throat? And how do you know him, anyway?_"

"_Xehanort? Who's Xehanort? That was – is Ansem."_

"_No, that was Xehanort. Leader of the Organization. Ansem would _never_ do something like that. Well, Ansem the _Wise_ wouldn't."_

_"So you're saying that Ansem – the man who took over my body and drowned me in darkness – isn't the REAL Ansem? So why did he say he was Ansem?"_

"Yes. Xehanort began calling himself Ansem after he got rid of the real Ansem. Xehanort was the real Ansem's apprentice."

"Well. That's interesting. So, how do you know that?"

"I make it a habit to learn everything as possible about my enemies, so I can be prepared for most any situation."

"Know anything else interesting?" I couldn't help asking.

"Not that I can tell you right now. Maybe later."

Sometimes I'm just too curious for my own good. Wait, did I think that aloud?

**-End of Spoiler-**

"Riku, you really need to get more of a grip on your mind; either that or shielding lessons, and the sooner the better. Would you stop shoving your thoughts into my head?"

"Well, I don't exactly know how to stop it."

"Never mind. I'll teach you later. That's enough telepathy for now – too much at the beginning and your mind will become over-strained. We'll talk again as soon as I wake up – and as soon as you find us some shelter. There should be a nice copse over to your right in about one hundred feet."

With that, I felt a door close in the back of my mind. It felt weird, but not as weird as having her in my head did. Now I could have some solitude to gather my thoughts, just like I wanted.

I hadn't realized that I had stopped walking as I 'conversed' with Rael, nor that she had slipped out of my grasp. This time, I decided to carry her bridal style instead of piggyback; it took less energy and didn't put Rael in uncomfortable positions that I knew she would hate her body – even her unconscious body – in, and that could have possible repercussions for me. For example, if she decided to use me in her archery practices as the target – ugh.

After staring at passing trees for what seemed like an eternity but was really only ten minutes, I noticed a discrepancy among what I had assumed were almost uniform rows of trees. Of course, I had never been in a forest before, so I didn't know what one was like. I lived most of my life on tropical islands, after all. Forests were NOT normal scenery for me.

To my right, there seemed to be a bunch of trees clustered in a circle. Since it was different than everything else around me, I assumed that it was the copse Rael had talked about, whatever a copse was. I headed to the right, fought my way past all the stupid branches in my way, and found myself in an area devoid of trees except for those I had just bypassed. Surely this wasn't natural, was it?

As I slowly put Rael down, the labors of the past few hours suddenly hit me. Collapsing onto the surprisingly soft ground, I allowed the darkness of sleep to claim me.

Well, that's it for chapter five. Sorry it wasn't very good. Thanks for reading, and please, **REVIEW!**


	6. Chapter 6

I'm back with another chapter of Door To Dawn! I know it's been a more than a few weeks since I've updated, and I'm sorry to say the next chapter will probably take longer. I am currently in my senior year of high school, and I'm in a program where the senior year is the hardest year. I will try and be as punctual as possible, but I can't promise anything.

This chapter will be in **Rael's POV. **Many thanks to **Kouji-wolf**, **Keyblade Crusader**, **Sarah the Slayer**, **Reiko x 3,** and **Yume-chan** for reviewing the last chapter!

**-Door To Dawn-**

Blackness was all around me. Not the somewhat comforting blackness of night, no, this was the fearful, crushing blackness of unconsciousness. The fact that I was aware of it, however, meant that I was very close to breaking free into consciousness once more. A slight lessening of the blackness into darkness were the rewards of my struggling. There! I slowly opened my eyes, staring straight up into the sky.

Not much light drifted through the dense canopy of trees. What few motes did drift through were faint, and the illumination they provided was barely enough for me to surmise that it was nighttime. I slowly moved my body into a sitting position, noticing that I was a little stiff from being hauled around like a sack earlier.

With that thought, I looked around the little clearing. Riku lay to my left, sleeping on his back like I had been a few moments earlier. _'He's probably more tired than I am. After all, he had his first battle with Dusks, had to carry me for miles, and had his first telepathic conversation. That would wear anyone out.'_

My smile abated as I looked more closely at Riku's slumbering figure. He was tossing and turning, murmuring softly. "Sora…Kairi…I'm sorry…"

These comments only aroused further curiosity in me. He had not mentioned much of his past, and I assumed that 'Sora' and 'Kairi' were names of people he knew. There was no surprise there; after all, I had known people before I met Riku, and so I assumed he had as well. What made me curious were the other two words: "I'm sorry." Why would he have reason to apologize to these people, wherever and whoever they were? Perhaps that was one reason for the Organization outfit, which I still wondered about.

My own past had kept me leery of probing into his past. I had not always been this way, living on the road, dressing in silver-grey, acting as a warrior. I did not mind reminiscing, but sometimes it was too much to cope with, the crushing guilt of being the only known survivor from my world to escape whole and undamaged. As for the other survivor… well, that was the main reason I was searching for the Organization: for revenge.

I had sworn not to let him get away for sacrificing our people to the darkness in exchange for power – especially my mother.

My reflective thoughts were interrupted by Riku's thrashing. I looked to my left, seeing him toss and turn, as his muttering became more urgent and pronounced. "Sora… I didn't mean to… No, Ansem, don't! Stay away!"

_'Now it's getting even more interesting… I should probably wake him up, though. He might aggravate his injuries if he thrashes around any more.'_

Stepping over to where Riku lay, I knelt by the silver-haired boy's shoulder. Grasping it firmly, I shook his shoulder. After three shakes, he came awake, eyes wide-open, bursting into a half-sitting position. He turned to face me. "Rael? Wha… What's going on? Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, Riku. You were the one having a nightmare. I didn't want you to aggravate your injuries," I reassured the startled teen.

He shook his head as if to chase the fragments of his nightmare from it. "Right. They're just scratches. Once I figured out their attack pattern, it was pretty simple for me to dodge most of them. Your Dusks really aren't that tough." The braggadocio that had once filled his voice was back, along with a slight grimace as he glanced at his right shoulder.

It was then that I realized I was still grasping his shoulder. Hard. I blushed, letting go quickly. "I'm really sorry about that. Are you all right? It's not bruised or anything, is it?" '_Oh no, what if I injured his sword arm? He won't be able to fight effectively!'_ I thought frantically, my few healer instincts taking over.

He smiled ruefully at my reaction. "It's fine. See? Not even black or blue," he said, tugging the collar of his coat aside enough for me to see his shoulder. I saw only white skin unblemished by the touch of sun or my finger.

"That's good," I replied, allowing relief to flood my face. He smiled back. Seeing his smile, I suddenly felt wrung out and giddy, and grinned foolishly.

His smile turned to confusion, and then he began to laugh, perceiving my slight shift in moods. Hearing his clear peals, my smile widened even further. It had been a long time since I had heard laughter. Not since Solunaria had been taken by darkness, in fact.

My smile died as I thought about my lost home. He glanced at my face, expecting me to laugh as well, but stopped abruptly when he saw the melancholy displayed on my face.

"Now it's my turn to ask what's wrong," he said.

"Oh… it's nothing. Just thinking," I said, putting false cheerfulness into my voice and mustering a fake smile. _'I hope that worked. I'd rather not talk about it…'_

Unfortunately, it didn't. "Nice try, Rael. I've done it enough myself to know you're trying to throw me off topic. I don't know exactly what's bothering you, but I do know that you need to talk with SOMEONE about it before it tears you apart inside. I don't want you to experience what I did…" He whispered the last sentence almost too low for me to hear, but my hearing was more sensitive than most, and I picked it up.

_'He's really worried about me. Maybe I should tell him some – not all, not yet, of my story…'_

"Are you absolutely sure you want to hear it?" I asked pleadingly in a last effort to change his mind.

"Yes. Now spill it," he said determinedly.

Shaking my head at his strange phrase, I reluctantly complied.

"My story begins sixteen years ago. One year before I was born, my father first met my mother. She had just been appointed the task of Lightbearer, an honorary title given to a random member of the priesthood that meant she would guard our land against encroaching darkness, be it from foreigners on our land, or physical, evil darkness. However, each new Lightbearer must go on a pilgrimage to find her Warder. The Warder will be lifebonded to her, and swear to protect her from any danger. My mother, however, also fell in love with her Warder, a man named Asi."

I looked at him for permission to continue. At his nod, I went on. "No Lightbearer had ever fallen in love with her Warder before my mother. The priestesses of our temple agreed to allow their marriage, since no precedent had been set. But the match ended in disaster, for while Asi-Warder seemed pure of heart, in truth he was a dark man. This was not discovered until fourteen years after my birth, however. I had been trained to follow after my mother as a priestess, learning the bow and arrow for defense. Then I discovered Asi's dark intentions towards our world."

I took a steadying breath to calm myself as I reached the portion of my tale I hated the most. "One day after I had finished my archery, I went to the rooms that had been allotted to our family. My mother was still performing her Lightbearer duties, and my father was alone in our suite until I arrived. That is what I surmised, however. When I got to our rooms, he was in his private study. I had improved my accuracy, hitting the bulls-eye every time, and of course, wanted to boast of my accomplishment. I burst into Father's study to find him deep in conference with a man in a black coat like you are wearing, saying, 'This world is almost covered in darkness, Xemnas. Only this pathetic realm is left, and once my wife is out of the way, it will fall too!'"

"He had no idea I was there, caught up in his rant as he was. I was almost too shocked to move, but I turned and fled the room before I was noticed. Xemnas was busy congratulating Asi to notice me. My first thought was to run to my mother, but I was too scared that she would discredit my story, since it would be my word against my father's. So for a year, I watched and waited, trying to gather more information to use against him. No other opportunity presented itself, however. Xemnas never returned, or if he did, I never saw him until the night our country fell."

"True to his word, Asi eliminated my mother on the last night of my thirteenth year. It was a new moon as well as the winter solstice, so the powers of darkness were at their peak, especially since he began the attack at midnight. The other priestesses fell quickly. Their defensive skills had waned with the passing years of peace, and they were unprepared for his assault. He was not the only one slaughtering them, however. An army of Nobodies was assisting him, Nobodies of his own creation. By the time he finished killing everyone else in the temple, it was dawn and I had awakened."

Riku sat in shock, not trusting himself to say anything for fear of making me stop. His expression, however, was one of sympathy.

It was then that I noticed tears streaming down my face. I focused on making them stop, how was I to continue if I sobbed to the point of incoherence?

My tears finally subdued, I resumed my story. "When I left my room, Asi was waiting for me. He told me what he had done, emotionlessly, as if he were reciting the days of the week, or the weather. I flew into a rage, punching and kicking him, but to no avail. He was too strong to be hurt by my weak efforts at close combat. He simply laughed at my pathetic efforts."

"Once I was spent, he knocked me into the closest wall. I was dazed, unable to gather myself enough to rise. He said that he would spare me so that I could spread news of his exploits throughout the worlds."

"I asked him why he was doing this, how he could betray his own family, his own people, and he replied with one word: 'Power'. I'll never forget the look on his face when he said that, the smug satisfaction that was etched there. The answer to my last question broke my heart. I asked, 'How could you be so heartless?' He replied, 'I have no heart. I am a Nobody.'"

"Then he dragged me to my former room, made me pack my essential belongings, and forced me to watch as he burned the temple that had been my only home for fourteen years, along with the bodies of everyone else I had called family. He opened a portal, took my arm, and made me follow him to the Organization's current stronghold: Castle Oblivion, a fortress situated in the realm between darkness and light."

At my brief pause, Riku coughed slightly and interrupted me. "I know what Castle Oblivion is, I've been there. I had to fight my way up from the basement to escape. That's also where I got this coat," he said, plucking at his outer garment for emphasis.

"That's interesting. But I thought you wanted to hear my story?" I gently reminded him. Even though I had been reluctant to tell at first, now that I had begun, it was like a surging tide, I couldn't stop until the story was all dried up.

"Of course. Please continue," he replied.

"Once we got to the castle, I 'met' the other members of the Organization so far: Xemnas, Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, Lexaeus, and Zexion. Xemnas told Asi that since he had proved his loyalty to the Organization, he deserved a new name and title. And now, he is known by the name Saix, the Luna Diviner. He imprisoned me in the castle for about a month, then let me go, gloating at my plight and telling me that I was doomed to wander the worlds for the rest of my life, the sole survivor of a 'small footnote in the Organization's grand scheme'. So that's what I've been doing for the past year and a half: wandering." I finished quietly.

"I didn't encounter any Organization member by that name there. You don't have to worry about Vexen, Lexaeus, or Zexion any more though. Sora and I got them, as well as Marluxia and Larxene," Riku replied proudly.

"That reminds me, Riku, I've been meaning to ask you since you woke up: Who are Sora and Kairi?" I asked innocently.

He stiffened at my question, initially suspicious, but then relaxed enough to let a look of anguish pass across his face, and sighed. "I suppose it's only fair that I tell you my story since you were kind enough to open up to me. My story begins on a world called the Destiny Islands…"

That's all for now! Please read and review, I'd really appreciate it. If I get enough reviews, maybe it will take me less than a month to update! Maybe…


	7. Chapter 7

Hi everyone! Welcome to the seventh installment of the **Door To Dawn** series! Thanks to everyone who read the last chapter, and especially to **Sarah the Slayer, Reiko x 3** and **Kouji-wolf** for reviewing! Did everyone like the story of Rael's past? I hope you did, 'cause here's Riku's! I've taken the liberty of putting my touches on his story, but I'll try and stick to the parts in the video games as much as I can. This chapter will, of course, be in **Riku's POV**.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts franchise, because if I did, then Riku would be the main character and Sora would be the one wandering in the darkness, only to be seen once every few worlds! Also, I don't own the concept of Warders, that honor belongs to Robert Jordan, author of the Wheel of Time series. However, I DO own Rael, Solunaria, and its culture, language, etc.

**-Door To Dawn-**

I averted my eyes much as Rael had done earlier, as hesitant as she was, but knowing it was necessary. "I was born in the Destiny Islands. They are a peaceful place, and I spent my childhood years in ignorance and bliss. I had one good friend growing up. His name was Sora. Even then, he was the light to my darkness. Sora and I would spend every day together. He was a year younger than me, so I took care of him, teaching him how to fight, play, even climb trees and race. You know, the regular stuff boys do."

"We were normal boys, just enjoying nature and hanging out. I was friends with Sora because his mother had been friends with my mother. Also, she kind of adopted me after my father died when I was seven. He was the only family I had left, since my mother died giving birth to me." My voice wavered as I remembered that awful time when my father had just died, the pitying looks the townspeople gave me, the hypocritical whispers of "poor boy, I wish I could help…" But they didn't ever lift a finger. None of the adults except Sora's mom cared. "'Who could care about a silver-haired freak like me?' That's what they said." I quoted bitterly.

"Riku…" Rael said soothingly. Not pityingly, soothingly. I hated pity. I had ever since I was seven. "You are not a 'silver-haired freak'! While silver hair is not the most common color, I am certain there are others throughout the worlds that have it! You should be proud of your looks!" '_They certainly are stunning enough…'_ she thought appreciatively.

"Um… did you just say that out loud?" I asked, confused. Surely she had not said what I thought she said…

"Say what out loud?" she replied.

"That my looks were stunning…" I responded hesitantly.

"No, I did not. What ever gave you that idea?"

"I just thought I heard… maybe it was telepathy?"

"No, I sent you no thought. Perhaps you simply picked it up from my mind. You are strong enough to do so, even without training."

"Whatever you say, Rael. I don't know anything about that stuff. But I thought you wanted to hear my story?" I gently replied, teasing her with the last sentence.

"Very amusing, Riku. I said we would train, did I not? But for now… your story, if you please."

I got up and bowed sardonically. "As you wish. After my father died, I was 'adopted' – not formally though, by Sora's family. Although I kept my family's home, every day I would eat my meals at their house. Sora's mom would help me buy my clothes and other stuff I needed. I learned to rely on myself though, as much as possible. I hated having to make her do everything for me."

"So that is why you seem so poised and confident," she commented sagely. "Perhaps too confident, sometimes?"

Ignoring her jibe, I continued. "My life was pretty much the same, day after day, play with Sora, explore the islands, go to school when in session. Until I was nine… then our lives changed. Sora and I were sitting on the dock, getting ready to swim, when he saw a shape out in the water. I thought it was a shark at first, but it didn't look or move like a shark. So we swam out to investigate. It turned out to be a young girl. We pulled her onto shore, and I ran to get an adult while Sora stood guard. When I came back, the girl was awake. She told us her name was Kairi and that she was eight years old, but that was all she could remember. The mayor adopted her and Kairi became the third member of our illustrious trio."

"So that's why you were mumbling their names in your sleep. They must be very important to you."

"Yeah, they are. They're the whole reason I'm here. You see, Kairi wasn't from the Islands. She is from another world! You see, we never knew there were other worlds until Kairi came. That sparked my interest, and I spent years questioning things like fate and destiny. Questions like 'If there are other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? We could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right? We'll never know by staying here.' One year ago, we finally decided to do something about it. We built a raft that was supposed to take us to other worlds. Well, mostly I built it while Sora and Kairi laid about, the lazy bums."

I heaved a sigh. "We were so naïve then, to think that a raft could take us to other worlds. The night before we were supposed to set sail, Heartless invaded our island. I was putting the finishing touches on our raft before heading home when the first wave attacked. I headed to my favorite spot, a little island with the only paopu tree left in existence. I was pretty sure I could defend myself there, since that was where I practiced every day. The first Heartless I saw, I swung at, but my sword just bounced right off. I had no idea they couldn't be hurt by normal means; I thought I was getting weaker. Anyway, I fought my way to the little island, and when I got there, there weren't any Heartless in sight! There was, however, a black portal…"

"A portal to the dark realm, much like the one Saix conjured to take me to Castle Oblivion. I can see where that would be a problem. Then what?"

I was getting somewhat tired of her interrupting. But I kept my irritation in, glad for the reprieves and a chance to get my breath.

"Just as I was about to enter, Sora came running up and asked where Kairi was. At that point, I don't really know how, but something just came over me." I shut my eyes, recalling that moment etched in my mind.

**-Flashback-**

**I was debating whether or not to leave now or wait for the others when Sora came pounding up. "Where's Kairi? I thought she was with you!" **

**I was facing away from him. "The door has opened..."**

"**What?"**

"**The door has opened, Sora! Now we can go to the outside world!"**

"**What are you talking about? We've gotta find Kairi!" **

"**Kairi's coming with us! Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. '_Not that I have any to return to,'_ There's no turning back. But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us! I'm not afraid of the darkness!"**

"**Riku…"**

**Darkness began to envelop my feet as I reached out my hand to him. As I sunk deeper, I noticed Sora fighting against the darkness holding him. I held out my hand to steady and encourage him, and he reached for it blindly. He lunged for it when it was up to our chests, missed, and the darkness swallowed me whole…**

**-End Flashback-**

"I didn't know what happened to Sora or Kairi for a while after that. When I woke up, I was stranded on a rock in the middle of a waterfall flowing upside down. No one else was in sight. When I stepped to the end of the rock, the stairs leading up to seemingly thin air made a strange cage appear. So I got in. It took me to a huge, beautiful castle colored a pinkish orange. When I went in, it appeared abandoned. Going up the stairs, I found a huge library."

Rael smiled hugely at this. "I love libraries, especially in big, empty castles! Let me guess, you were hoping to find some clues as to where you were and how to get back home?"

I grit my teeth once again. '_Just let it roll off, just let it roll off. No need to get irritated just because she interrupted me – again.'_ "Like I was saying, I found the library, so the first thing I did was open a book. The language was so different, all blocks and sticks, like some kind of ancient runes. I had no idea what it was saying, so I left the library and went back out into the foyer. A swarm of Heartless jumped me." At her confused look, I added, "That means they suddenly attacked me. When I thought I was doomed to loose my heart, _she_ showed up." I then waited for the inevitable question. In three, two, one…

"Who's _she_?"

"Her name is Maleficent. She was an evil witch who tried to harness the power of darkness. She waved her staff, and the Heartless disappeared. She waved it again, and something _sparked_ inside me. I felt like the darkness was swamping over me. That something inside me absorbed the darkness. She laughed mockingly and said I had a surprising natural control over darkness. That taste… infected me. I became addicted, just like she planned. I didn't realize it at first, it was very gradual. So then I asked if she had seen Kairi and Sora. Maleficent promised to help me find them."

Rael mercifully remained silent. I had expected her to say something, but I took the opportunity and plunged ahead. "After that, my mind was obsessed with finding Kairi and Sora. Maleficent kept delaying our departure, insisting on training me in the ways of darkness. I didn't really pay attention, but I did try to improve my fighting skills. Finally, she felt ready to depart. Said that she had found Sora. So we took Captain Hook's ship to a world called Traverse Town."

"There I found Sora. Saved him from some Heartless, in fact. But then, I discovered he had replaced me. Donald and Goofy were his friends now. He didn't even care about Kairi. He was too busy saving the worlds to care about finding her. At least, that's how I felt then. Maleficent was there the whole time, poisoning my mind against Sora, convincing me to accept the darkness."

"Once I was convinced that Sora wouldn't help me, I went back onto Hook's ship. While I was in Traverse Town, Hook had left and found her. I don't know where, but I suspect that she was somewhere else in Hollow Bastion, the world where I had first landed, and that Maleficent had hidden her from me. But Kairi had lost her heart and wouldn't wake up."

"Something inside me, that I now know was Ansem, told me that Sora was the key. So I went hunting for him, in addition to collecting the princesses of heart for Maleficent. I found him inside a whale! Maleficent told me to get the puppet trapped inside, that I could use his heart to revive Kairi's. So I went and tried to capture Pinocchio, deepening the rift between Sora and I. I failed. Then, Maleficent deepened the darkness's hold on me, and I lost even more of the boy I had been."

"I used a portal to return to Hook's ship, and we sailed around space for a while, until returning to Hook's world, unable to find Sora. Or so I thought. When we were about to land, we encountered his gummi ship! Hook boarded and captured it, and I got one more chance to help Sora see what I thought was the good side. But I couldn't get him to pay attention to me. He kept on asking where his new friends were. I had to reveal my trump card- Kairi- to get him to listen. He refused to cooperate, and I was forced to knock him out."

"He got out of the hold Hook put him in, and made his way to the cabin where I was. He wouldn't stop pestering me, and the darkness inside me just… took over, created a Heartless from Sora's shadow, and pitted them against one another, while I ran out to the deck. I was too ashamed to face him, I couldn't bear up to his light."

"The next time we saw each other was in a world called Hollow Bastion. I took the Keyblade from him, acted coldly toward him, told him to 'go play soldier' with a wooden sword. For some reason, his new friends followed me. Asked me questions like why I was so mean to Sora if I was his best friend. 'Didn't I want him around?' they asked. I didn't answer, just ignored them. All I wanted was to get Kairi's heart back and return to the islands. I had had enough of seeing other worlds, I thought. If these are what the worlds really were like, then I just wanted to go home, ya know?"

Rael nodded, still not interrupting. "We fought, Sora and I. I lost, both the Keyblade and to Sora. I was so frustrated. Ansem was telling me to embrace the power that darkness had to offer, and fool that I was, I listened, and opened my heart to darkness. I didn't loose it, but the part of me that was my light was shoved into the dark realm. I was lost in the darkness, but I could see what was happening when Ansem was in my body. He turned Maleficent into a black dragon, fought Sora for Kairi's heart, and made him release it. Sora turned into a Heartless! Ansem's control was weakened, and I managed to force my spirit back to the light. The others saw me, and I told them to run, that I would fight him. They did."

I swallowed again. This was the part I hated, being stuck in the darkness. "After that, I returned to the dark realm, where I heard the voice of King Mickey, who told me to go down the path to the door to darkness. I was aware of the events in the realm of light, of Ansem revealing his true form, drowning our islands in darkness, dragging Sora to the other side of the door, and attempting to finish him off. Sora was falling into oblivion, but I managed to goad him into going on. Perhaps it was my telepathy manifesting itself, I'm not sure even now how I did it, but I kept him from falling into darkness. Then, they fought. Sora won, and I was meeting King Mickey when Ansem attempted to open the door to Kingdom Hearts. He almost succeeded, but once again, Sora stopped him. The door had to be closed, and King Mickey and I stayed behind so he could close the door."

"That must have been hard. So that's how you ended up here?" Rael asked.

"Not quite. After the door closed, I fell into a deep sleep under the darkness's influence. A man calling himself DiZ awakened me in the basement of Castle Oblivion. I fought DiZ in Ansem's guise a few times, and he unlocked the darkness in my heart. When I was finally free of the castle, His Majesty tagging along, I was given a choice of whether to choose light or darkness. I chose twilight."

"So where is this 'King Mickey'?"

"We traveled together for a while, but with every step I could feel my darkness growing more powerful, Ansem mocking me from inside my heart. So I left him one night, not wanting to corrupt his goodness with my evil. Then I met you and the rest you know already."

"Wow. That is a far more dark and intriguing tale than mine. You seem tired, but I have one thing to say. You were leaking your emotions throughout your story, and it was very hard to concentrate on your words. It is time to give you some training in shielding your thoughts and emotions from outside minds like mine."

That's all for now! I figured Riku's story needed its own chapter. Please read and review!

Tell me if I got Riku's personality right. And if Rael seemed a little OOC, it's because she's just curious because she's never heard Riku's story and she's still fascinated by him for 'unknown reasons'.


	8. Chapter 8

I'm really sorry for the delay. The program I'm in, the International Baccalaureate program, does its best to ensure that seniors have no free time whatsoever during the school year. I've also been suffering from a tad bit of writer's block. This chapter's in **Rael's pov**, and is mostly mental exercises. Sorry there's no action.

Disclaimer: I wish I owned it. If I did, no one would have ever heard of Kairi and Saix would be a greasy smear on the wall, along with Ansem, who had the temerity to take over Riku's body…

-Door To Dawn-

He was looking at me again. This time, it was a stare of curiosity as I guided him to the center of the clearing.

"What are we doing Rael? Shouldn't we be trying to get out of this crazy forest?" Riku asked, puzzled.

"We can worry about that later. I'd prefer to give you some shield training now, so you won't be leaking your thoughts to all and sundry, including the Organization," I explained for what seemed like the millionth time. But I could forgive him, considering that he apparently grew up in a place without mental powers.

"Um, I'm still uncomfortable about this whole 'mental powers' thing. Are you sure it's safe? It won't affect me badly? The last time I jumped in to something without thinking, I ended up evil…" Riku's voice trailed off.

"Don't worry, Riku, I promise this is completely safe. On Solunaria, we do these exercises when we're children!" I smiled at his reluctance, trying my best to reassure him.

He sighed a little, but relaxed. "I trust you, Rael. What do I do?" he asked.

"First, sit across from me," I said as I got into the meditative position, legs folded under me with my arms at my sides. Riku hesitantly copied my position, wincing as his muscles contracted in different ways than he was used to. I smiled. "Don't worry, eventually you'll get used to the position. Either that or your legs will become numb; whichever comes first. Now, first, I want you to imagine the most soothing place you know." I said, quickly imagining my own place, the temple library, the smell of dusty tomes, the light drifting in through the high windows, the slight rustling of turning pages, and the familiar slanted script of the temple language on creamy white paper.

I looked at him to see if he was ready. His eyes had a glazed look to them, and the only whispers I got from his mind were of ocean breezes, an island, and a tree. _'Good. So long as he's calm and his mind is empty.'_ "Next come the shields. The innermost one is the bulwark, the strong last defense should an enemy get past the first two. Imagine the strongest substance you can think of. Imagine putting it around your mind, and it should turn into a mental wall." I watched as a blue glow began to surround Riku. _'First shield's up.'_

"Good. Now, the second shield will be an absorption shield. It should absorb any weaker energies and give you a mental boost. Think 'flexible' and put another barrier around the wall." I watched as the blue glow around the boy solidified and brightened a little bit more.

The outermost shield is reflective. It serves to, of course, bounce back the energies of your opponent. It's useful against the weaker opponents you may have to face, but can even soften the hardest blow of a master if strengthened enough. It's a welding together of the inner and second shields, but slightly thinner so it has some recoil. Do you understand?"

I wasn't expecting a response, but when he faintly nodded, I saw the blue halo arrange itself into a solid aura. He had the basics, at least.

Riku cracked open his left eye. "I did it, didn't I? Everything seems so much _damper_ now, like I was hearing everything at once and suddenly got the universe's best earmuffs."

I couldn't help but smile inwardly at the triumphant form across from me. "That's how it should feel. Not only were you broadcasting everywhere, you were receiving as well, so you should've been hearing things. Now that you've established your shields, all that you'll need to do is practice keeping them up. You'll need to do that consciously for a time, but soon they'll be so comfortable you'll manage them subconsciously."

"I'm still confused, but if you say so, then it must be true, O Mistress of the Mind," he grinned.

"Don't get cocky. And I'm no 'Mistress of the Mind', just a student," I admonished slightly.

"That may be how you seem to yourself, but to me you're in a whole other realm," he responded, still cheekily.

"One more thing before we leave. I'm going to teach you to see auras."

"What are auras?" His cheeky tone was finally gone, replaced by honest puzzlement.

"They are basically visual representations of a person's personality, emotions and power. For example, yours is currently blue, which means that you are calm and relaxed. In fact, your aura, for as long as I've been with you, has always been predominantly blue, which is unusual in someone of our age. Normally it is mature adults who have blue auras… but I digress. In order to do this, you're going to have to find your soothing place again. Next, there should be a current running through it. If your place has any color, the current will be slightly darker than the surrounding colors. If it doesn't, then it there will be a ripple in the area through which the current runs. I need you to grip that current mentally." I paused, waiting for a change in his demeanor or aura.

When I saw his aura twist slightly and flare outwards, I knew he had it and continued. "Good. Now, visualize your body. The current should give you slight sense of where everything is. Find your eyes, and _move_ the little of the current there. Now open your eyes."

His eyes dilated in shock as he took in his surroundings through his 'new' eyes, looking at himself too. "I'M glowing. YOU'RE glowing. BLUE. That's weird, but it somehow _fits_. Am I going insane?" he asked in a rush.

I grinned openly at that. '_Poor Riku, it must be hard to have the legacy of mental powers suddenly thrust upon you with no prior warning or training, like being forced to fight an army when you don't even know how to hold a bow.'_ I hoped for both our sakes that he adjusted quickly. "No, you're not going insane. I told you earlier that I was helping your mind adjust to this situation, didn't I? Aura knowledge is one of those things. It helps you identify friend from foe. Those who have _wrong_ auras or ones that don't, as you put it, _fit _are foes, as well as those who have no auras at all, like Heartless. Strangely, Nobodies have auras. I suppose it's because they have a brain. But their auras are always black, because they have no emotions."

"Is that how you were able to identify the Dusks yesterday, then? By looking for black auras?" he queried.

"Precisely." _'He learns quickly. He has quite a facile mind. Very useful in this situation, considering I have to condense the techniques I am teaching him, and not allow the normal six months it takes to learn the entire basics. Experimentation, while it can have harmful effects on those slow to learn, aids the quick minded. I can only give him so much of my information, for I cannot give him the instincts any Solunarian possesses at birth, with which some of these techniques are learned. What I cannot teach, trial and error must.'_

"So is this permanent? Will I always be able to see auras now? Or can I turn it on and off?" he asked as he cocked his head to the side, silver bangs falling into his eyes, perhaps to shield himself from the blazes of colors surrounding him.

"It is able to be activated at will, but I recommend that you do not ever 'turn it off', because it only takes a second to spot an unfamiliar aura and react to it. It is very useful if you ever find yourself about to be trapped in an ambush. Auras can be seen where you may be unable to see the person's body. Also, it helps in a conversation, for you can tell when a person is lying."

"How can you do that? Is there a specific color or something in their aura?"

"Yes. When a person is lying, their aura becomes spiked with white."

"White? I thought white usually represented purity and light?"

"Under normal circumstances, white is the banner of purity and justice for the worlds. But because a lie results in a mixture of emotions, the colors of these emotions mix within the aura and create white. You do know that white is a mixture of all the colors within the visible spectrum, don't you?"

"Yeah, that makes sense. Thanks for explaining. Is that it? Just creating shields, telepathy, and seeing auras? What about that thing you did earlier to find the Dusks? You said you 'sent your mind out'. Can I learn to do that?"

"Not right now, but once your shields are more firm and are drawing from your subconscious, then perhaps you can have a trial run. If you tried mind-walking with shields drawing from your physical energy, you would run completely out of energy before your mind went an inch."

"Oh." Riku said, paling slightly at that mental image.

"Don't worry. I will not let that happen to you, provided you listen to my advice." I responded, catching the flicker of unease that flickered in his aura.

"What are the other aura colors beside blue and white?"

"Well, the other colors are the colors in the visible spectrum: red, orange, yellow, green, indigo and violet. Red represents the courageous and hot-tempered. They think before they act. Sounds like your friend, Sora, correct? Orange represents those who are self-sacrificing, who give too much of themselves to others and are peacemakers. Then there's yellow. A yellow aura represents people who are always cheerful and optimistic. Greens are the intellectuals and the wise. Indigo are those who are noble of purpose and mind, and are often noble in blood as well. Violet are the tricksters, sly and conniving. Although the colors can change depending on the situation, the predominant color is indicative of a person's true personality."

"I don't think I can remember all that, but I'll try. Maybe after some experience it'll be easier. Are there ever multiple colored auras? People who are a mix of more than one? How do you tell those?"

"Yes, there are mixes, and their auras are usually evenly divided between the colors, so it's easy to tell."

"Okay. I've got just one more question. Do you want to spar?"

"Spar? What's spar?"

"Hand to hand fighting. Or sword-to-sword fighting, whichever one you have. But this would be hand-to-hand, since you don't have a sword. Do you know how to fight that way?"

"Oh, you mean martial arts? I've never heard it referred to as sparring. We call it _dasha_, honor combat, in Solunaria. I'm not very good at it, but I would be happy to spar against you, Riku."

"Why do you call it honor combat?"

"Usually it is reserved as a means to settle questions of honor that are considered too petty for the courts to handle."

"You'll have to explain more about the way Solunaria works later. But first, let's spar! I'm ready for some muscle exercise!"

I stood up and waited for Riku to do the same. He jumped up, obviously with some pent up energy. We took our positions across from each other. I bowed before taking mine, and he bowed back, to my surprise. He was standing with feet slightly apart, right foot in front of his left and arms even with each other, left hand palm up, facing toward me, his right hand curled into a loose fist. I was standing with left foot far in from of my right, with my right hand near my stomach, palm down, facing left, and my left hand level with and facing my left ear.

We stayed in these stances past the unspoken three second countdown, but began to slowly circle one another, both of us reluctant to make the first move. Riku broke his stance first, leaping towards me and bringing his fist toward my face. I moved my right hand up to my face to block it, while I brought my left hand toward his outstretched arm, attempting to grab it. His left hand blocked my attempt. I threw off his fist and countered with a palm strike to his stomach, which knocked him back a few inches. He let out the breath he was holding in a cry of surprise.

He rushed forward and tried a kick, but I jumped back out of the way. We closed the gap between us and began exchanging punches, most of which were blocked. The punches that did get through were slight and wouldn't bruise very much. Then I swept my foot behind his ankles, hooked them, and knocked his feet out from under him. He ended up sprawled on his back with his legs in the air. Just as I was about to make my finishing move, he sprang up with a powerful kick to my abdomen. I slid back a few feet, breathing heavily. That kick was powerful!

He allowed me time to recover. This time I rushed at him. I pierced his defense with a side chop to his neck, which I pulled at the last minute because he had his fist at my stomach. I could tell he was weary when sweat ran down his face and his bangs were limp on his forehead. I was tired too. Then he grinned at me. "Draw?" he panted.

"That is acceptable." I replied, breathing just as heavily.

So we dropped out of our respective stances to slump on the grass. I held my stomach, which seemed bruised from the kick I received. Pressing gingerly, I was relieved to find it was not more serious. I stretched my arms over my head, wincing as my bruises protested the action. Riku was wincing too, stretching his legs out. I broke the silence first. "Is there anything more serious than a bruise you need me to take care of? I have slight healing expertise."

"No, I don't think so. The fact we pulled our strikes helped. Thanks for the offer though. I've received worse. Training with an incompetent who has no idea what he's doing will result in far more bruises than going against someone experienced like you." Riku grinned again.

"Now that we've gotten both our mental and physical exercise, what do you suggest we do now?" I asked.

"How about we get out of this creepy place? I'm not exactly a big fan of forests." Riku replied with a shudder, glancing at the trees around us.

"Then out of the forest we shall go!" I responded, pushing myself off the ground and heading out of the clearing. The path was dim, but I could follow it without much difficulty, as the path seemed clear of roots and other obstacles.

We traveled in silence. Riku had made his way in front of me, then hurried his pace slightly.

"What is it?" I asked, wondering what had made him quicken his step.

"Daylight!" he exclaimed, and we soon found ourselves on the beaten road again.

There's the end of chapter 8! Once again, I'm sorry for the delay. Review, please! I need the motivation to get the next chapter out faster!


	9. Chapter 9

Hi everyone! I bet you're wondering what took me so long this time, aren't you? Well, school was practically non-stop from March to early June, and then I had a death in the family that severely crippled any resolve I had to continue for about two weeks. Then I finally started writing this again, but still had writer's block, so… I'm sorry! Thanks to **Sarah the Slayer,** **Keyblade Crusader, **and** Abeo Umbra **for reviewing, and I hope to see more reviews from others! After all, how can I get better without some feedback? This chapter will be in **Riku's POV**.

Disclaimer: How many times do I have to say it? I wish it were mine so Saix could live out the rest of his non-existence as a greasy smear on the wall and Riku could get all the limelight, BUT IT'S NOT!

A/N: This chapter largely came about through the efforts of **Sarah the Slayer**, whose relentless updates of her own story shamed me sufficiently enough to start me writing this chapter, and **Abeo Umbra**, one of my best friends here on who volunteered to read this story even though she knows nothing about Kingdom Hearts and reviewed every chapter! She also bugged me unceasingly about updating, and so, here I am, with a new chapter.

**-Door To Dawn-**

We were walking in companionable silence down the road, dirt puffing up from beneath my boots. I was slightly ahead of Rael, as usual, and concentrating on keeping my shields up. It felt strange, to have everything so quiet, but I liked it. I had always felt that silence was to be treasured since I was little, because with Sora around it was very rarely quiet.

My thoughts drifted once again to the girl behind me. She was different from any other girl I had encountered before. Most other girls would be falling all over themselves trying to get my attention, but she wasn't. She was just… there. Maybe it was her demeanor, but there was something magnetic about her. I didn't know what it was, but I was determined to find out. After all, I've never been one to back out of a challenge.

_Flick. Flicker. Flick. _Three small pulses rammed themselves against my shields. I stopped, trying to feel where it was coming from. _Flick._ There! I turned around, mock glaring at the culprit. "What are you doing, Rael?"

"Testing you," she replied evenly.

_'I have a headache enough as it is trying to maintain these things. Not that I'd ever tell her this, but this is tiring!'_ Aloud I said, "Why now? I'm still pretty new at this, you know."

Without batting an eye, she responded, "Once you have reached the point in your training where you can automatically detect the mental strength of your attacker, pinpoint the source of the attack, and respond accordingly, then will I stop testing you. It will take time for you to reach that point, however."

"I'll be able to tell all that just from one attack?" I asked, some doubt creeping into my voice. After all, I hadn't even known where the attack was coming from at first, and that seemed like the easiest part to learn!

She nodded. "I had been training for two years before I reached that level. While I do not know the amount of time it will take for you, for you have not been fully immersed in the ways of Solunaria, but in that of another culture. Perhaps you have gained some other type of insight that will allow you to master this exercise more quickly."

"Just when did you start training if it took you two years? Aren't you just teaching me the basics?" I was curious at this point, unabashedly doing my best to get a hint of what might be to come in future training. My pace had slowed until I was next to her.

"My case was a little different than others. Traditionally, the way this training is mastered is in competitions between temples. Twice weekly, one group of five from each temple would be pitted in a race against the others. The goal was to complete the course first, surviving against various obstacles, under mental attacks for the duration of the course. One way to complete the course more efficiently was to determine where the attacks were coming from and confront each attacker. The attacker would be forced to give clues as to the ending point of the race. However, my temple had no other temples nearby with which to compete, so I was forced to develop the ability more slowly." Rael explained.

"Oh. That competition sounds fun. Is there a special name for it, too, like _dasha_?" I asked.

"Yes. The temple games are known collectively as _tadeth_, and that competition in particular is called _zaran_. _Tadeth_ means 'struggles' and _zaran_ means 'race'." Rael said, narrowing her eyes briefly from the glare of the sun, which was now directly overhead.

"_Zaran_ and _tadeth_, huh? Sounds fun." I replied, trying to draw her out, keep her attention on our conversation and not on tormenting me. _Flick_. Didn't work. My headache was now throbbing in time with our pace, which thankfully had slowed.

"They were. Despite the priestesses' best efforts to keep _tadeth_ civil and focused solely on the development of mental abilities, rivalries were created that brought attention to the competition. Betting became a common practice among the populace of the towns, each town with its own favorite temple. Except for ours. We had no affiliation with any one town, because the temple of the Lightbearer belongs to all Solunarians, and had no team." Rael said, a smile curving her lips upward.

"Sounds like blitzball where I come from, the teams and rivalries at least. Blitzball's just for fun, though." At her questioning look, I continued, " Blitzball is a game that takes place underwater in a huge sphere, with two teams who are trying to get the blitzball past the opposite team into their goal. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins." I grinned inwardly; my distraction seemed to be working now.

"How do they breathe if they're underwater? And just what is a blitzball?" Rael asked; head tilted to the side in confusion.

"They don't breathe, they hold their breath. The games are short, usually about 20 minutes. A blitzball is a large blue and white striped ball. Used properly, it can even be used as a weapon. One of the kids back home that I know, Wakka, is an expert at that." I replied.

"Very strange, but it sounds… interesting. Do you often undertake activities merely for amusement? Such activity on Solunaria would be… discouraged in the temples." Rael grimaced slightly at that admission, perhaps at an old memory that had resurfaced in her mind.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. Even sword fighting was just a hobby before I left the islands. I never had a real sword before then, just a wooden one, like everyone else." I sighed, part of me wishing that I could have gone back to that carefree abandon the wooden sword signified. It never dealt any serious injuries; bruises at the worst, maybe a splinter or two. That same part of me knew that it could never happen; even if I were to return to the islands, such a sword would be like a toy. Now that I had seen the outside world, had used a real sword, and killed with it, a play sword would be faded and washed out somehow. As surreal as the peace of the islands would be, once I rid myself of Ansem's influence and returned.

"But did you ever wish for a real sword while you were on the islands?" Rael asked thoughtfully.

Unsure what direction the conversation was now taking, I responded hesitantly. "I – yes. Whenever I thought about what lay outside the islands, I wondered what we would find, whether it would be peaceful or dangerous, and wished that I had a true weapon to protect myself and the others with. Kairi wouldn't be much help in a fight, she's not strong enough, and Sora didn't take swordplay seriously enough for my taste. Lazy bums, the both of them." I said the last with a smile on my face.

Rael smiled in return, but it was a sad one. "Would that Solunaria was as carefree as your home. While we are not warriors, we could never afford the luxury for such play training as you have described. Even the rudiments were performed with the expectation that it would be no game. Everything was serious."

"So how did you relax and have fun?" I asked, unable to fathom a world such as Rael had described hers – all work and no play, or so it seemed to me.

"Me? I often read books for fun. The pursuit of knowledge is always a worthy goal. To relax and further my skills, I practiced archery," Rael replied. She must have noticed my slight grimace at the mention of books, but chose not to comment further.

"About that, Rael, why do you do archery? I mean, sure, it's great for long-distance combat, but in close quarters it's pretty useless. Don't you know how to use a sword, or something like it?" I asked as my gaze wandered to the ever-present quiver on her back.

She smiled. "I was beginning to wonder when you would pose that question. Please have patience, the answer is a lengthy one, and involves a myriad of aspects about Solunaria. At the heart of it is religion, however. You see, we on Solunaria believe that we have two angels guarding our planet at the behest of the Eldest, who created it. The first angel, the red angel, takes the form of the Sun in the daytime, and the second angel, the white angel, takes the form of the Moon during the night. Their job is to keep the darkness from swallowing Solunaria and should they fail in that task, to hide it in another dimension, behind the Door."

At this gap in her story, which was flowing smoothly like anything memorized by rote does, I interrupted, getting slightly frustrated at the answer to what should have been a simple question. "This is interesting and all, but what does it have to do with you practicing archery?"

She leveled a mock glare at me. "I said this was a lengthy explanation, did I not? You must learn to cultivate patience, Riku. I am simply giving you the entire story now to prevent you asking more questions later." I bowed in mute apology as she continued. "Legend says that the red angel uses a bow and arrows, while the white angel uses a sword. Each temple is dedicated to either the red angel or the white angel, and so the novices of that temple learn either the bow or the sword, depending on which angel is honored there."

"They only learn one weapon? What if they're not very good at that weapon?" I asked, interested now in her story. This was an utterly alien concept to me, these temples and angels and weapon association and everything else she had mentioned. We didn't have anything like this on the islands.

"Then they are free to seek another temple which serves the other angel, of course. Should they not be suited to either weapon, then they are free to remain at the temple, but are not allowed to become a priest or priestess." Rael replied.

"Why do your priests and priestesses have to learn that weapon? Can't they just advance without learning a weapon?" I queried again, my mind working overtime as I tried to assimilate this information and form it into a coherent whole.

"No, Riku. You see, Solunaria has no standing army, so should danger threaten, the priests and priestesses, as representatives of the two angels, are expected to defend Solunaria, and all are expected to bear arms in her defense. They are the only forces standing in between Solunaria and the threat of darkness." Rael said calmly, with an slight monotone to her voice that suggested she was saying this by rote and had the information so completely memorized that it was boring just to hear herself saying it.

"What about the ordinary people? In the towns and cities? Can't they fight?" I asked again, voice betraying my shock at what her statement implied. Surely people were allowed to learn weaponry of some kind, if just to defend themselves!

"I'm not sure. I had never been outside our temple, and we had no cities nearby. All that I have been told is that the priests and priestesses are to learn weaponry so they can fulfill the duty of protecting Solunaria should the need arise." She responded, looking troubled at the thought that her people might not be able to defend themselves.

I hastened to reassure her. "That's ok. I was just curious. You don't have to answer all my questions, you know!" Then a sobering thought struck me. I hesitated briefly before asking, "But, if all your priests and priestesses can defend themselves, then how was Saix able to plunge your world into darkness?"

She gave a sad, rueful smile. "We never suspected such treachery, and the army of Dusks and Heartless that he used were impervious to the ordinary weapons most possessed. Also, it was very fast, not fast enough for any messages my temple may have sent to reach the other temples, not even the nearest town."

I persisted with my original question. "That doesn't explain why you learned archery. Was your temple one of the ones dedicated to this red angel?"

She shook her head. "The temple of the Lightbearer is… not like the others. It has no true affiliation. It is completely balanced between both angels. There are an equal number of people serving each angel. Theoretically, every novice is free to choose which angel he or she will serve, but because I am the Lightbearer's successor, I am expected to serve the red angel, as my mother did before me. You see, the Lightbearer traditionally is the head of the Order of the Red Angel, while her Warder is the head of the Order of the White Angel. This is because legend says that the first Lightbearer, may the Sun honor her soul, was a direct descendant of the red angel, and her Warder was the direct descendant of the white angel. Not all previous Warders are of that true bloodline, but as the line of Lightbearers remains unbroken, the Warders lead those who serve the white angel."

I shook my head in confusion. Now I knew why she told me it was a long answer! My curiosity wasn't quite assuaged, however; I still had one more question. "If you had been free to choose, what would you have picked? The bow or the sword?"

She looked pensive at my final question. "I have never thought about it. I suspect that I would have chosen the bow anyway, but I am not sure."

"Well, that sounds really cool. I'm a little confused still, but I think I'll just need some time to understand everything. We don't have anything like that on the islands." I said, head still swimming with new ideas and information.

"You don't have a religion?" she asked, shock plastered on her features at the thought. Religion was clearly the core of her life.

I shook my head. "No, we have religion, but we have many different interpretations of it. Everyone is allowed to think what he or she wants to." I replied.

It was her turn to shake her head. "I wasn't asking about everyone else on your islands, Riku, I was asking about _you_."

"I…" I paused, unsure of how to answer her question. What did I believe? I tried to answer her as best I could. "I haven't ever had the opportunity to think about it. I mean, I guess that there's something out there, but I never really thought that that something ever cared. It was just _there._ But now, I'm not sure."

"Why aren't you sure?" she asked, still obviously in shock.

"With everything that's happened to me in the past year, I'm just not sure why all this bad stuff happened to me. If there is something else, why hasn't it done anything to prevent this?" I asked, gesturing to my current state, implying the darkness in me that I could still sense.

She looked solemn again. "I can't answer those questions Riku. Only you can. But I will say this: has everything you've been through been truly that awful? Our paths would never have crossed had your home not been swallowed in darkness."

I mulled over that. "You sound almost like Sora. 'There's a silver lining in every cloud', huh?"

"If by that you mean that good can come out of even the worst situation, then yes." Rael responded, slowing down enough to look me in the eye, trying to give me some of her conviction.

"I guess you're right. I'm just not very good at thinking positive right now." I said, trying to muster a smile for her benefit. It came out crooked and slightly fake. She didn't look convinced, but didn't press the issue. We walked in silence as I moved ahead of her once again, and everything was peaceful until… _flick_. "Ow! Hey, I thought you had stopped doing that!" I exclaimed in outrage.

She laughed. "Constant vigilance, Riku. Constant vigilance."

Her laughter mingled with my groan of annoyance and drifted upward into the dark sky, but was cut off by a large yawn. I could have sworn I heard her jaw pop. She looked down for a brief moment, possibly in embarrassment, and said, "My apologies, Riku. I am more tired that I thought. Perhaps we should stop for the night?"

I felt some relief at her suggestion, because I was getting a little tired too. The headache was wearing on my nerves, and my bruises from our spar earlier were starting to throb. I began to scan the area for a suitable place to make camp. At first glance, I couldn't see any and moved deeper into the brush until I found myself staring up at the sky with the wind knocked out of me. "Oof. That hurt." I groaned, pushing myself up to a sitting position before looking back up the grassy slope I had just rolled down. The wind didn't seem to be blowing as fiercely here, and the dip was obviously invisible to the naked eye or else I wouldn't have fallen, so… why not camp here? "Rael!" I called up to where I had last seen her.

Her head appeared over the dip. "Are you well, Riku? I turned my head away for one second and you were gone the next! I didn't know what had happened!" she said quickly, her face betraying her anxiety.

I laughed aloud at her worried expression. "I'm fine, just had the wind knocked out of me, that's all!" I called back.

"I don't understand. What wind?" she asked.

"That's a term we use to explain what happens after a bad fall, when it's hard to catch your breath." I replied, inwardly amused by her inability to understand even the most basic metaphors of everyday language.

"That doesn't seem very normal, but then, your language is strange to my ears," she replied, sliding down the hill to my position easily, but followed by a trail of loose rocks and grass torn free by her descent.

I didn't bother to reply to that, but said instead, "I thought this would be a good place to make camp. Ow! Hey, what are you doing, Rael? Cut that out!" She had started prodding my back, and touched a particularly painful bruise. _'That does feel good though. Maybe I should fall down hills more often,'_ a small voice whispered in the back of my mind. I shoved that voice down into the deepest, darkest corner of my mind and fervently hoped she hadn't picked _that_ thought up. Her feather-light touch was proving to be too much, though, and I began to laugh. "That… hahahaha… tickles, Rael!" I gasped in between laughs.

Her minstrations soon stopped after that, and it was with a faint tinge of regret that I stood up and took out the blanket Rael had given me from underneath my coat, stretched it out, and laid down upon it. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her draw her hands back by her sides, a strange expression on her face. But just as soon as I spotted it, her face smoothed back into a neutral expression. She squatted down as she pulled off her backpack and began rummaging through it. Something she found must have alarmed her, because she immediately called my name.

"What?" I responded irritably, couldn't she tell I was trying to go to sleep?

Something of my irritation must have shown itself in my voice, as she quickly responded, "We're running a bit low on food supplies. We need to find a way to get some more soon."

"We'll discuss it in the morning. I'm too tired to think about that right now, ok Rael?" I replied.

"You're right, Riku. We shall discuss it in the morning. Now is the time for sleep. I apologize for bothering you with something so trivial," she said apologetically.

I rolled over to look at her. "It's not trivial at all, but right now our minds are too tired to come up with an efficient and effective plan of action, that's all."

She had proceeded to take her spare blanket out of her pack and lay down beside me, which she had never done before. Normally we slept on either side of camp, one of us facing north and the other facing south. I wasn't about to protest, though, as she reached out and lightly brushed my forehead with her fingers in what was obviously a good night gesture. "Pleasant sleep, Riku," she murmured.

I hesitantly copied her gesture, brushing my fingers along her brow before whispering, "Sweet dreams, Rael," a pleasant tingling lingering in my fingers from the touch. Turning over, I felt her do the same before closing my eyes and embracing the sweet oblivion of sleep.

That's all for this chapter. It's my longest one yet! Did anyone catch my tribute? Did you like the fluff? I tried my best, but I'm not very good at fluffy scenes yet. I promise there will be action in the next chapter, and that it'll come out much sooner than this one did. Once again, sorry for the long wait. Please review or feel free to message me if you think I'm taking too long on the next chapter. Reviews feed my inspiration and thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

Hi everyone! And welcome to the 10th chapter of **Door To Dawn**! I know, I know, you've all been waiting patiently for this chapter, and I'm sorry for the delay. But I'm now a college student with 17 hours and a workload that's trying hard to kill me. I will try to update as much as I can, but you may not be seeing many updates until I'm vacationing at home at various points in the year. But, should that occur, I will hopefully have several chapters typed up and will be able to post them at the same time. I AM planning on finishing this story, and have two sequels lined up, but I'm not sure how long it will take to finish.

This story is finally to the double digits! Hurray for the tenth chapter! Thanks to **Abeo Umbra** and **Sarah the Slayer** for reviewing last chapter, and thanks to everyone that added this story to their Alerts. To **Abeo Umbra**: Thanks for all your help with this chapter! Your ideas were great, and so here they are! I would like to add one note before we begin this chapter: the first part will be in **Riku's POV**, and will shift to **Rael's POV** for the rest of the chapter. A POV shift will be denoted by 's POV . And now, without further ado, on to the tenth chapter of **Door To Dawn**!

**-Door To Dawn-**

I awoke in a cold sweat, looking for the source of the noise that had disturbed my light slumber. Rolling over to face Rael, I saw she was shaking and mumbling incoherently. I tried to listen to the words, but they were foreign to my ears. It was probably Solunarian, since it sounded like humming, all liquid polysyllables running together like ocean waves. But whatever she was saying, it was obvious she was in the throes of a nightmare.

I got up to try and wake her up. Kneeling beside her, I said her name softly, "Rael?" There was no response, so I tried again, this time louder. "Rael, wake up!" Once again, there was no response. I gripped her shoulder and shook her lightly, "RAEL!" I shouted into her ear. She quieted briefly, but resumed shaking not long after.

Moving my arm to her other shoulder, my coat sleeve rode up so my bare wrist brushed against her cheek. I froze in that position, a strange feeling in my stomach, and I found myself unable to tear away from her. Then, the scene before my eyes melted away as I was thrust in the middle of Rael's nightmare…

-------Nightmare sequence------

I watched as the scene before me unfolded. A girl in a fire red nightgown embroidered in golden suns slept soundly, black hair splayed out behind her. I quickly recognized the sleeping figure. "Rael!" I tried to say, but no sound came out of my mouth.

As the sun came over the horizon, the dim globes that had slightly illuminated the bedchamber were extinguished, and the golden rays flooded into the room, dappling themselves across Rael's still form. As the source of life and warmth made its presence known, she stirred, blearily opening her eyes, green-gold orbs widening into full alertness.

Her mouth opened. "Naniel? Adiren?" drifted up to my spot in the darkness. I had no idea what that meant, until her voice whispered through my mind again, this time speaking a tongue I understood. "Mother? Father?" echoed through my skull.

She got up, stretching slightly, before moving to the doorway. My position shifted again until I was directly in front of her. She stared through me, her face drained of all color. A single word came from her lips this time. "Kira…" No translation accompanied that whisper, so I assumed that Kira was the name of a person. My view shifted again and this time I was directly behind her.

A body lay at the end of the hallway. The lady appeared to be in her mid-twenties, in a red robe styled much like the nightgown Rael was wearing. She appeared to be sleeping, blonde hair askew and eyes closed, but her unnatural stiffness gave lie to that assumption.

Rael rushed down the hallway as I trailed more slowly behind her. She knelt by the body, reaching for the figure's wrist. When she couldn't register a pulse, Rael's eyes widened and she gasped in disbelief. "No… Kira, no, please! Please wake up! You said… you promised… you wouldn't… leave me behind."

My heart was constricting in my chest as I watched the painful scene, a silent watcher of a horrible tragedy. Silent tears trickled down Rael's face, and muffled sobs reached my ears as she buried her head in the folds of her friend's robe. Her tears soon subsided however, and turned to rage.

Standing swiftly, she looked down at the form below and whispered, "Whoever did this to you will pay, I promise." Having reached the end of the hallway, she turned left. I was pulled behind her by an unseen force. Exiting the hall through the nearest door, she halted as soon as the door had opened.

Had I not been insubstantial, I would have run her over. As it was, I passed through her and was halfway through the room before my silent progress was checked. There was only one figure in the room, and could dimly be seen through the light from the hallway. Silver thread reflected the light in the shapes of moons and stars.

Rael's mouth opened, but before she could speak, the figure did. "Good. You are awake, my daughter. I assume you have seen the tragedy that has befallen us?" The voice was low, obviously male, with an odd, hollowed timbre to it.

My jaw dropped in shock as the figure moved into the shaft of light provided by the hallway. This was Asi? Rael's father? The middle-aged man, hair silvered not unlike my own and falling past his shoulders, with amber eyes and delicately pointed ears, smiled eerily.

"Adiren? How did this happen? Where is Naniel?" Rael asked swiftly, puffy eyes, which were swollen from crying, narrowing slightly.

He did not respond, merely staring her down with impossibly amber eyes that betrayed nothing and, combined with his stiff countenance, created an impenetrable mask over his thoughts.

"Your Naniel is no more. She fell defending the temple. The light will soon be swallowed, without her bow to lead it." His tone was casual, as if he were simply commenting on the weather and not delivering news of Rael's mother's, and his wife's, death, as well as the failure of the light to fight the encroaching darkness.

Her eyes widened in grief again, silver pools welling up in her eyes and spilling over her cheeks. "What? Not Naniel! No, you lie, you lie, she's fine, she must be!" Her voice had risen in volume until she was shouting at the end.

He raised an eyebrow, before reaching behind him and pulling out a large object. Upon further inspection, it proved to be a bow much like Rael's, only larger and with more etchings upon it's surface. What was most noticeable was the clean break down the middle and the snapped bowstring. "You know as well as I that our weapons do not fail until their users do. And you cannot deny that this bow belonged to your mother."

"How can you be so calm about this?! Stop talking like that! You may be a Blue(1), but even we feel… Have you not even mourned her death?" Rael cried, tears still trickling down her cheeks.

"You are correct. I am not that coldhearted, I am more, for I no longer have a heart. And why should I mourn a death made for the greater good?" There was a mocking inflection in the last two words that twisted my stomach. He continued, "As for my color… I am no longer Blue, but Black!" With that statement, his aura, which had been dark blue, deepened to black as the façade he had so carefully preserved was stripped away.

Rael stepped back in horror. "How… when? How long has it been since you abandoned the true path? How did you conceal your aura from the sight? When did you become this… thing?!" The questions tumbled from her mouth rapidly.

He waved his hand airily. "The youth are ever impetuous. But I shall answer your questions. I have not abandoned the so-called 'true path', but have merely chosen another route. As for my aura, you should know better than most the connection between a Lightbearer and her Warder is absolute. I merely borrowed from her aura, drawing on that connection between us. I am not a _thing_, I am a Nobody." His smirk must have made something inside Rael snap; for I saw her clench her fists and grit her teeth in rage.

"You are not my Adiren! " she ground out, before coiling her body into a fighting stance and shooting forward, arm cocked at her ear before bringing it ahead of her body in what normally would have been a devastating right hook, had her father not caught it in his hand.

His savage smile grew wider as he twisted her arm sharply, making her wrist bones grind against each other so hard I was sure they would snap from the kinetic energy being applied to them.

Somehow they didn't snap, and although her fist was held fast, Rael's fighting spirit had not been dampened, and her left leg came around in a kick so fast my eyes only saw a blur.

Asi staggered slightly from the blow, and his grip on Rael's fist loosened enough for her to wrench it free. His expression changed as shock briefly flitted across his features before being replaced with grudging admiration. "Very good, my daughter. I had not realized you had practiced the _dasha_ forms so well. But that will not help you defeat me." He said as he brought his leg around in a sweeping move, hooking her behind the ankles; a swift tug brought her crashing to the floor.

Instead of pressing his attack, however, he allowed Rael the chance to rise before attacking once again, this time with a flurry of punches designed to overwhelm the guard of even the most experienced fighter. Rael put her arms in the classic 'x' blocking position before her face, and only half the punches got through. The force behind the blows was enough to send her into the wall not five feet away, however.

He approached her body, which lay crumpled on the floor from the impact with the wall. "Giving up so soon? I would have thought you had more fight in you. Foolish daughter, I could have killed you within five seconds of your first punch, had I so desired. But I didn't. Do you know why?"

Blood was running from her lip where a fist had struck it, and one eye was swollen around the edges, turning a painful shade of purple. There was still fire in her eyes as she responded. "To make me suffer like you did all the rest? Or is it because, deep inside, you remember what it was like to feel, and to love, and you can't do it! You can't kill me!"

He chuckled, the sound coming dry and raspy from his throat. "No. It is because I need you to do something for me. I need you to survive. Live, travel throughout the worlds and tell them this story. Now come. We have much to do, and little time in which to do it," Asi said, gripping her by the arm and hauling her roughly to her feet.

She looked up at him, sorrow in her eyes as one word left her mouth. "Why?" There were volumes of expression in that single sound, but mostly sadness and grief.

He responded with likewise with another single word, "Power."

I once again tried calling out to her, but though my mouth moved, no sound reached my ears. The vision pulled me relentlessly behind them. As Asi dragged Rael past Kira's body, a ragged sob, a hiss of breath from overburdened lungs, drifted up to my insubstantial ears.

His smirk grew yet again. "For whom are you mourning, my daughter? Your mother? Your friend Kira, perhaps? Or better yet, for yourself, the sole survivor of a horrible tragedy, cast out from your world and all you know? Emotions are for the weak. They are a means through which you can be controlled." He had reached the door of Rael's room by this point, and slammed it open, shoving her inside and closing the door behind her. He called through the wooden barrier, "You have fifteen minutes to pack. Take only what you need most dearly. And change clothes. Your sleeping attire is hardly fitting for hard travel."

Fifteen minutes later, Rael emerged, dressed in her familiar silver clothes with a matching rucksack slung over one shoulder. Her cheeks were still streaked with tears, but no more fell from her eyes, which were narrowed in cold fury at the man standing before her, who smiled as he eyed her outfit.

"The ancient garb of the rizan, hmmm? How appropriate, since you will be as one of them, wandering in exile as long as you live, never to set eyes on your people again."

His laughter echoed in my ears as the scene before me faded into darkness. My remaining senses of taste, smell and touch returned, along with a fierce headache, as I was slammed back into my body by whatever force had drawn me into Rael's nightmare in the first place. My wrist was still on her cheek, and I quickly pulled away as she shifted restlessly yet again. "Rael?" I asked softly, hoping she would wake up this time.

Rael's POV

The familiar nightmare that had haunted my dreams for over a year faded as the sound of a voice calling my name interposed itself over the images and sounds I had been experiencing. I had a swift moment of disorientation as I was unable to place the voice or language, being submerged in the familiarity of my temple home and language, before the image of a silver-haired young man, along with a name, _Riku_, floated before my dream-vision. "Rael?" I heard out of the blackness around me. A jolt of alarm shot through me, dispelling the sorrow I felt in the wake of my dream. He needed me!

My eyes shot open and were confronted with the visage of that same man, his eyes boring into my own; the worry in his aura palpable. "What? What's wrong? Are you ok?" I asked.

His look of worry faded to one of confusion followed by shock. "It was you I was worried about; I'm fine. Except, somehow, I think I saw what you were dreaming, and now… Rael, what's happening to me? I can understand you perfectly!" he exclaimed, voice rising in volume until the last sentence ended in a shout.

I was confused by his last statement. What was he talking about? "Of course you can understand me. I am speaking your tongue…" my voice trailed off as he shook his head in denial. "I am not?" The actual sounds of the words I was speaking began to flow through my mind. The soothing rhythmic patterns of the syllables, so foreign to the tongue I had been speaking for the past year, did indeed mean that I was speaking in Solunarian. But how could he have understood me, unless… "Riku, did you touch me while I was dreaming?"

"Yes, I did. I woke up and saw you thrashing and moaning, and tried calling out your name to wake you up, but that didn't work so I had to touch you." he responded, brushing his hair out of his eyes to fully look at me. "But what does that have to do with my being able to understand you?"

"Are your shields up?" I asked, noticing a quivering in his aura.

"They are now, but I don't think they were when I touched you," he said.

"When you touched me, you entered my mind and picked up what I was feeling, which is why you saw my nightmare. Since I was immersed in Solunarian thoughts, you picked up some of the language." I replied after a brief pause in coming to the only possible conclusion. I sighed. "It's my fault. I'm sorry. I took the chance of expanding my shields around the entire camp so we would have some warning should an enemy try and attack during the night. That left my mind open to you once you touched me."

"Oh. So will this be permanent? Or will I not be able to understand Solunarian after a while?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. It is most likely permanent, but I do not have any experience with a case such as yours, since it was an accidental mind-scan and not an intentional one. Normally we have our mental shields up at all times and only let in people whom we trust or who break our defenses." I said, sitting up and coming to full awareness as my mind shook off the last vestiges of my nightmare and sleep.

"Ok. It's not that I mind, really I don't, but… I don't know, I guess this is all still so new to me that to add a language on top of everything else is… exhausting." The corners of his mouth turned upwards into a wry smile at this confession of weariness before he became serious again. His next, inevitable question made me freeze in my sitting position just as I was about to rise. "Who's Kira?"

My throat closed up and I had to choke back a small sob at his question. I wasn't truly ready to answer the question, but I had to, for all our sakes: Riku's, Kira's and mine. I answered him slowly, voice thick with emotion. "Kira was my best friend in the temple. Even though she was several years older than me, she was closest in age to me and so she looked after me when I was younger, like an older sister would. The bond we formed later developed into deep friendship once I was starting my training as an acolyte. She was already over halfway through the acolyte training program and had progressed through it at an astonishing rate, but once I began my training she held herself back for me. When it was time for her to complete her acolyte training and become a minor priest, she turned down the promotion. When I asked her why, she said, 'I never want to be above you, only beside you in everything. That means I am going to wait to move up until you are ready so we can be together.'"

I took a deep breath before continuing, feeling tears creeping into the corners of my eyes. "She was the only true friend I ever had, the only one I shared all my secrets with and let down all my mental shields willingly for. We had so many plans together; I promised to appoint her as my Second once I became Lightbearer so we could stay close. Having her as my Second meant that she would help me in my duties as Lightbearer and was required to stay with me at all times while I was on duty, a task that she was already accomplishing in our acolyte years. But now… she's gone."

Riku put his hand on my arm, being careful not to touch my skin again. His grip was comforting, and I looked at him. "I shouldn't have asked you that. I'm sorry. The friendship the two of you had reminds me of the way Sora and I used to be, a long time ago. I couldn't imagine what would happen to Sora if I… went away like that. But I'll tell you what His Majesty King Mickey told me, 'No matter how far apart you are from your friends, your heart will always be able to find them,' or something like that. So even though Kira is gone physically, she's still alive in your memories and in your heart, and nothing can take that away from you. So, c'mon, cheer up, okay?"

"Thank you, Riku. I needed to hear that. I just miss her physical presence so much that I forgot she's with me in spirit." I replied, standing up. "Now how about some breakfast?" I asked, rolling up my bedroll and reaching into my knapsack for some dried fruit. Pulling out a handful of slices, I handed half to Riku and kept the rest for myself.

"Breakfast sounds good, but how much do we have left? Didn't you say last night our supplies were running low?" he asked as he took a nibble of one of the slices. Swallowing, he continued, "Can we augment what we have left with some foraging? I mean, I haven't seen much around here to eat, but maybe if we find some kind of grain we can have that. I mean, aren't we surrounded by fields? Surely there's some kind of edible plant we can eat."

"Good suggestion. I was hoping that we would have come across a town by now, but it is always helpful to have a second idea." I said thoughtfully, chewing my own fruit.

We ate the rest of our breakfast in silence. Riku was doing his best not to look me in the eye, and was keeping his head down as he finished off his fruit. I was looking at the ravine wall behind him, mentally tallying our supplies to get an estimate of how long we could stretch out our remaining food if we rationed it. I had just finished my last slice as Riku was tidying up his bedroll and started to do the same.

As we headed out, I prepared to draw my shields in from where they were spread around the ravine, when I felt a thud against them. Someone or something was trying to enter the camp. As the pounding continued, I hastened my climb up the ravine, brushing past a startled Riku. Ignoring the stinging of my palms as they protested the rough abuse I was putting on them, I finally hauled myself up to the top of the embankment to find what was causing my shields to tremor.

What I found made my heart stop briefly in shock and worry. Not taking my eyes off the scene before me, I called down to Riku, who still had not finished the climb, "Riku? You had better get up here quickly. We have a… situation." I stared at the veritable army of Heartless that stood in our path, many of them kinds that I did not recognize from the earlier encounters I had had with the creatures.

He finished his ascent a minute after I said this. "What kind of a sit – oh. That kind. You ready?" he asked as SoulEater appeared in his hand.

I reached back into my quiver for my bow and a string, and in a few seconds had it strung and tight in my left hand. Once again reaching back into my quiver, this time for an arrow, I nocked it and drew it back into firing position. Though I had no idea how two of us were supposed to beat more than one thousand Heartless by ourselves, I didn't let any of my doubt seep into my voice as I said, "Let's go."

Well, that's the end of the tenth chapter. Was there enough action for you? If not, it will definitely be in the next one! Please be kind and review; I'd love to know what you thought! I know that not everyone that has reviewed before is reviewing now, and I'm wondering why. The more reviews I get, hopefully the faster I'll get the next chapter out!


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